Reader's View: Suggestions for proposed city parking garage

The proposed City Center parking structure is a significant project for the city's downtown and warrants serious thought. As an organization committed to sensible urban planning principles, Sustainable Saratoga would like to make several recommendations.

First, we advocate for an open design process in which the public would be shown plans at various stages in the design process and encouraged to comment. We hope that the City Center board recognizes the benefits that accrue from engaging the public, including avoiding added costs and unnecessary public controversy, but also assuring that the final design is compatible with sensible planning principles and therefore more acceptable to the broader community.

Second, we urge those who are designing the parking garage to adhere to the urban planning guidelines that already exist for private development in the downtown area to assure that the design of the parking structure will conform to the established long-term vision for the city's growth.

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For example, the requirements of the zoning ordinance call for "liner" buildings with commercial uses along parking garage frontages, vertical building elements that provide comfortable pedestrian scale, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, street trees, street lights, among other features.

A parking garage built out to the street that does not have these liner buildings will eliminate opportunities not only for enhancing the vitality of that area but also for adding tax revenue from the addition of commercial and residential uses along the street.

In addition, we recommend the city ensure that the project is consistent with the principles articulated in the city's Complete Streets Policy, adopted in 2012, by requesting input from the Complete Streets Advisory Board. We also recommend that the project designers review past planning efforts, such as the adopted Urban Heritage Plan, that calls for a pedestrian-friendly corridor along Maple Avenue to link historic sites and the mineral springs.

Third, the design of the new parking garage presents an opportunity for the city to both improve environmental conditions and also to save money through the use of green infrastructure. Wise choices in building materials can substantially reduce the short-term and long-term environmental impacts of the construction. Elements such as porous pavement and subsurface infiltration can reduce polluted stormwater; trees planted on or around the garage would absorb stormwater, add shade, improve the appearance of the garage and mitigate air pollution generated by the cars

Finally, we urge the city and the City Center to explore the feasibility of including other transportation modes in the design of the project. These might include enclosed rack spaces for bicycles, charging stations for electric cars, taxi stands or calling areas for cabs, and priority parking and discounts for car/van pools.

We Saratogians are proud of our distinction as a city acclaimed for its good planning and design. We hope that the City Council and City Center Authority will take this opportunity to incorporate both existing smart building standards and the newest and best design elements in this project.